April 2, 2007

Willow Glen Lifestyles Home Tour set for May 5-6

Many of the people from San Jose and surrounding cities look forward each year to the Willow Glen Lifestyles Home Tour to get ideas for a new home or for decorating their current home or just to see how others live.

This Spanish style home with Courtyard is just one of the houses on the 2007 Willow Glen Lifestyles Home Tour.

They won’t be disappointed this year, because the 25th annual tour, which benefits the San Jose Day Nursery, will be held on Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This year’s tour will include six homes as well as several boutiques, raffle drawings of entertainment packages, complementary refreshments and box lunches by A Catered Affair will be available for purchase.

The self-guided tour this year will feature creative remodels, inviting interior design and innovative floral arrangements provided by local floral designers. This year’s homes include:

A beautiful old federal colonial, which has kept its original integrity, but has been redesigned and updated inside;

A redesigned one-story home, whose owner has used her travels in Guatemala to inspire her decorating, and has added a wonderful courtyard to the front yard;

A new prairie-style home whose owners love the simplicity of the look and have continued it throughout the house;

A truly authentic new home in the Craftsman style. It is full of beautiful woods, design elements and special treatments;

A charming three-bedroom home to which the owners have added a new family room, bathrooms and kitchen. The homeowners did most of the design and decorating; and

A home with a redesigned interior in a very contemporary style with an interesting pocket garden.

Tickets at the pre-tour price of $30 are available at the following businesses: Casa Casa, 1355 Lincoln Ave., Eclectic Touch, 1171 Lincoln Ave. and Able Printing, 1595 Meridian Ave. Tickets the dates of the tour may be purchased for $35 in the parking lot of Washington Mutual on the corner of Lincoln and Minnesota avenues.

Longstanding rules include no cameras, camcorders or children under 12. At the homeowners’ request, you will be asked to remove your shoes before entering the houses.

The San Jose Day Nursery is located in downtown San Jose and has been operating since 1916. It is committed to providing a fundamental learning curriculum and excellent childcare services for the young children of the community. San Jose Day Nursery believes that all children deserve access to caring educational programs that provide for their cognitive and emotional development and stimulate growth that contributes to satisfying and productive lives.

The nursery believes parents have a right to know that their children are being cared for in a safe, nurturing, enlightened environment that respects the uniqueness and the rich cultural heritage of each child. Further, where our children are concerned, lack of financial resources should not be a barrier to obtaining superior childcare services and excellent educational programs. San Jose Day Nursery is open to families of all income levels and provides subsidized care to those needing assistance.

It is committed to meeting the dynamic needs, expectations and hopes of parents residing in the central and east San Jose community and/or working downtown. In a complex community environment, it seeks a staff and board possessing a diversity of skills and heritages, empathy and relativity in family relations and leadership in the conduct of programs and agency management.

The nursery enjoys exceptional staff stability—an important contributor to program quality, effective communication, and the establishment of trusting relationships. All teachers are specifically trained in child development. The essential combination of specialized education and experience serves as the source of the expertise necessary to cope with the intricate issues of our children and families. In addition to this extensive training, eight staff members (six teachers and two administrators) are multilingual. Fluency in Mandarin, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Spanish facilitate initial child and adult adjustment and foster continuing communications and understanding.

Late last year, the San Jose Day Nursery moved into its newly renovated home at 33 North Eighth Street, after spending two years in temporary quarters. Proceeds from the tours helped to pay for the renovation. Proceeds also help pay the staff and cover tuition for those families unable to afford full payment.